BJean

Congratulations on having completed the sugrery phase of your "recovery" from obesity. The first week was, for me, a little rougher than when I had the band. But I very quickly bounced back and by my one week doctor visit, I was in the best mood I'd been in for several years! And things just keep getting better. I hope your stay in Texas is pleasant and it's great to know that we have another doctor in the D/FW area who is doing things right. Keep us posted on your progress. Good luck!

I've lost about 22 lbs. at this point, I think. I'm only 6 lbs away from the lowest I was with the band. If I can get under that weight I will have some real hope that I can make my goal. Did you have to start exercising a lot to get off the plateau? Or did you just start losing again at some point eating pretty much the same thing with the same activity level? I took a bite of my husband's multi-grain pancake this morning with syrup and I feel kind of yukee. I've found if I get up and move around when I feel like this, I do much better. Have you allowed yourself to eat any kind of sugary foods yet? Or are you still on pretty much low-cal foods? Hope you don't mind me asking these questions. If you do, just ignore them. Thanks, BJ

Well you must be a good-lookin' cougar, eh? Congratulations on your huge success. I know you must feel fantastic. How long did it take you to reach goal after you got the sleeve?

me too Lee! You're doing fabulously well! congratulations!

pnw216 you definitely do not look like you could be a senior in your photo!! Thanks for your comments. I've hit a little bit of a plateau but then I've been eating a little bit more than I was. I am mostly eating about a half a cup at a time. I have added some sugar free chocolate almonds and that could be slowing me down. But I need the roughage. LOL

Once again you act like Democrats invented politics in America. They didn't. Remember George W. Bush's military career? You know, the one where he didn't show up? And it might be interesting to know how many times he actually had on a military uniform during his military "career."

Actually kinda funny joke. But it's interesting that you take credit so much of the time for things you post. Which late night host told this one?

pattyg: This kind of talk is sooooo like you, Cleo's. The fact is WE don't HATE anybody. We just don't like their actions sometimes. Two different things. You must be the kind of person who literally hates people when they don't act or abide by your standards, cause you often say that others are hateful when they don't like the actions of people. Maybe you hate people for how they are, but most people don't. I don't anyway. Now, I don't hate public schools or teachers. I sent 2 of my oldest boys all through the public school system, and the other 5 children went up to middle school grades in the public school. I thought most of the teachers were good teachers and they treated my kids respectfully and kindly. I have much to say in support of my kids public school teachers. I was talking generally when I said teachers suck. I was mostly angry with the teachers in CT who refused to forgo their raise when they are making more money than any teachers in this whole Nation! Also, I don't hate the government. I hate the tremendous growth of it! I have always stated that every country is in need of governing, and ours is no different. I just don't think that the government should be soooo BIG. When it gets to a point where the government jobs far exceed the number of private sector jobs to pay for them, then there is a BIG problem. When the government is spending more money than it has and the interest alone has become unsustainable, then we have BIG problems. I would like to see our government CUT, yes CUT, most of it's wasteful spending and give aways as well as reduce it's size of employment drastically. I would like to see the corruptness disapear, like when Obama had Clinton offer that guy a job to get out of the race. That kind of Chicago crap. Government is a necessity and I am thankful for it, just not lately now that it is getting too into everything with regulations and laws and interference in business and the lives of people, like Health Care and education, etc. November will be a wake up call for all those democrats who think this is how Americans want to live and have things run. We don't. Obama's progressive, socialistic, welfare, style is gonna go! This kind of talk about hate when somebody else uses it? YOU're the one who has been so quick to accuse the progressives of hate! You even started a thread using that word. So you have no right to call somebody else on it. Maybe you've reformed and don't accuse everybody of hate now but you sure used to, ad nauseum. We DO want Obama's progressive style and way of doing things. We DO. And our only complaint is that he isn't progressing fast enough. Your mavericks didn't get elected. Our candidates did. So stand back and wait your turn. We want major cuts in needless spending just like you do. And who in the world doesn't? Well the actual Republican legislators are who doesn't. They only talk about cutting spending. In fact they don't do it once they're elected. They still talk about it after elections but when they vote and draft legislation it's making the government bigger, not smaller. So be careful whom you vote for. If you think you're getting what they're promising when you vote for them, you'd better think again. As for offering a job to someone they don't want to run against someone they do want elected, get real. That's not just Chicago politics, it's the way politics works everywhere! That's what happens when people in politics become elected and powerful. They get to control things. For you to act like this president invented politics is just plain disengenuous and you're not fooling anyone with that talk.

Whatever patty.

What a great post, Cleo's. And I really think we have probably all witnessed what you've outlined. And I commend you and the other post above for bucking the system. Being a principal is political and that's really unfortunate. And a teacher who is only there to make him or herself look good to parents can certainly be counter-productive to the children's learning experience. Remember when we were children and our parents were children, the teacher was always right and the principal was the final word on any disciplinary problem. You could see the tide turning when teachers and principals started being afraid not only of the parents but in some cases, even the students. Do you think it happened because of corporal punishment being taken out of schools? I agreed with that because I never thought that teachers were well-educated on methods of administering punishment, especially corporal punishment. And teachers abused their ability to spank kids which is why parents eventually rebelled and demanded that corporal punishment be abandoned as a method of discipline. I'll never forget one former Navy guy who was a history teacher in my middle school. He had a long narrow paddle with holes in it. When he whipped the boys - x number of hits for certain high crimes - he really lit into them and left bruises that looked like the paddle. When he hit girls we all thought he was enjoying it so much it made us all feel very uncomfortable. Unfortunately like everything else in life, the bad teachers cause the good teachers to be tarnished with the same brush. Corporal punishment is something people are still debating today as to the true effectiveness. I think it may get you the immediate result you're looking for but in the long run you damage yourself and the person being punished in sometimes irreparable ways.

I agree that we do kill the desire to learn in some of our children by just lecturing and expecting them to learn through memorization. Some children, like I was, are very visual and in order to retain things they need to be able to see it and interact with it. Others, like my husband, was the opposite so rote worked for him. So maybe what this tells us is that we need a system whereby we determine how each child responds to different forms of teaching methods. Then we can place them in classes that address their particular needs. Right now it's a one-size fits all scenario and we're definitely dropping kids through the cracks right and left.

That's what I was so feebly attempting to say. Good job!

A disclaimer to start with... I am up late and expounding on a topic that I feel passionate about. The following is a diatribe off the top of my head. You might want to ignore it. Read at your own risk. The way I see it these days is that parents spend so little quality time with their children they want: 1) No time spent on thoughtful discipline of their children because it takes too much time and energy. These are the same parents that get so frustrated that they wind up either screaming in the child's face or getting physical with them in a bad way when the child just can't make up his mind about the candy. 2) They think that if they take the child's side against a teacher they are being their child's advocate. And that makes them think they are a good parent to their child. What they need to understand is that education should be a team effort on the part of the parents and teachers. If everyone stopped to think about what is best for the child, including both the parent as well as the teacher, then the adults personalities wouldn't be the issue as they often are. 3) This day and age in families, both parents work to make more money to buy more things - although in some cases, especially single parent situations, having both parents work is an absolute necessity. When both parents are so strung out trying to work hard enough to keep their job, they're too tired to get involved in their kid's schooling. This isn't an excuse, but it is the way it is these days. 4) Teachers need to be able to do the job of educating our children during the hours they have them at school. We had some homework but not tons of homework like my son's boys do now. They are only in the second grade and even last year they had lots of homework every night. And usually the schools are frantically trying to make sure that the kids can pass the tests that are mandated rather than giving the students the knowledge that they need to become well-functioning members of society. The kind of homework that the boys had required parental assistance - there was no way around it. Sometimes the projects that students are expected to do are way, way over their ability and the parents wind up using their creativity to get it done. And of course there are those parents who just go on an ego trip every time they can and they aren't really considering what the child is learning in the process of doing one of these complicated projects. I'm not a teacher like Cleo's although I am from a family of teachers. And I'm sure Cleo's and others will take issue with my comments which is certainly fair. But I do have strong opinions about public schools and that's also fair. And the only way we can get parents and teachers on the same page is if we stop the blame game that has been going on for years. There are reasons why some parents don't get involved in their kids schooling. And there are some teachers who are not good at their job. What we need to figure out is what are we going to do to improve our schools and give our children the best education possible. And btw, that doesn't necessarily mean how can we give them more complicated courses to study. Sometimes it may mean that we need to simplify a bit and stop rushing our kids and stop trying to bully parents into participating. If the children are all going to be treated equal by the public school system, how can we require parental involvement as a necessary component when there are children who just do not have the benefit of parents who are available and can be involved? An idea: maybe for those kids who do not have available parents, we could have volunteers - perhaps senior citizens - give their time to take the place of those missing parents? It really does take a village or at least it should.

But I must say that as for most of what Cleo's posts, she's spot on. Baaaaaaa.

Who are you quoting? Where did you find the source for this information about Canada's healthcare system going broke? And where did you get your information regarding Canada's system being a model for Obama's proposed healthcare plan?

If you paid any attention to my posts you would have noticed that I do not always agree with everything that Cleo's posts. Just as an aside though, her posts are far more factual and thoughtful and accurate than the ones we usually see of yours. And I gotta tell you, it wouldn't take much effort to accomplish that. Baaaaa.

Enjoyed your post! Like your sense of humor. I think that eventually you will be proud that you voted for Obama. There's a lot going on and we're in a transitional phase that leaves us with a lot of questions right now. But I believe that he has a good heart and good intentions for this country. And that's what you want from a president. Not a self-serving, to hell with you people, kind of man.

Oh man. Here's another priceless one for you to call your husband with Leigha! Absolutely stunning, isn't it?

The Republicans are experts at manufacturing lies and unreal scenarios to scare you. And you buy them, hook, line and sinker. Like the typical sheep to slaughter.

Wonderful story and great illustration of what our parents and their parents grew up with regarding politics and business in the U.S. My grandparents told stories that would shock people about how they survived the war and the depression. They were such staunch Democrats as a result, they became very active in local politics. I wish my husband could have had the benefit of hearing their stories because real life trumps the Republican made up stuff every time.

Much more comiserate with the responsibility they have. But I also believe that a $300,000 wage for teachers would cause indirect benefits. (And not just for elementary school teachers, although we'll use them as an example here.) First, the requirements for teachers would become more stringent. When I went to college and was trying to decide on a major, the easiest (by a long shot) degree to get was in elementary education. Now I'm not disparaging anyone, especially these days, for getting a degree in elementary ed, but the facts at that time were that fewer difficult courses were required to become an elementary school teacher than for any other degree including physical education. And the starting salaries for elementary school teachers reflected that. Second, respect for those teaching positions would go from low to very high. And yes, due in part to the value we place on a person's ability to command a high salary. But that respect would be due in large part to the increased requirements for obtaining a degree in education that we could demand with a much higher pay scale. Third, the competition for these high paying jobs would increase drastically and the caliber of candidates would go up as a consequence. Fourth, there would probably be more parents who would become involved because of the respect they would have for these higher qualilfied, higher paid teachers. And there would probably be fewer people who home school their children for the same reason. Fifth, and most importantly, the children would be better educated and safer because of the higher caliber teachers and the stricter screening processes that would probably be in place. We are short changing our children. We could do education in this country so much better if we were smarter about it. Better educated children means smarter adults. Smarter adults would result in better problem solving, more creative thinking when it comes to business and government and an all around better country would be created for all of us. Right now we seem to be getting dumber by the minute. If we don't solve some of the problems we have facing us in this country, including how lobbyists create our legislation, we are going to continue on this downhill slide until we will have a heckofa time ever getting our strength back. Education is the most basic thing for people. If we can't get that right, it's not surprising that everything else will eventually go to hell in a handbasket.

amen, sister!

Liar? Idiot!

Legislating morality. That's what the Republicans say they want. But the fact is, this particilar group of Republican politicians are some of the most immoral folks we have seen in poliltics. Not that they have a monopoly on immorality, of course. Democrats have their share, but not in the numbers the Republicans appear to have. And when someone stands up and declares that they have the answer to morality in America by virtue of their religion and they wind up on the slippery slope sliding down the immoral abyss (meaning immoral behavior), we are more shocked than if it is someone who doesn't claim to have all the answers to life. Republicans have created a huge contradiction and every day in every way they reveal just how black their hearts are. Because they do not show themselves to be following the path that they want to enforce others to take. So their religion, their morals are not worth anything to the American voter. They are political quacks. And I will go so far as to say not only are these people political quacks, they are religious quacks too. And they aren't really patriotic either. If they were patriotic and cared one whit about this country they would be trying to work with the duly elected congress and president. Black hearts. People who lie, misrepresent, pass judgement on others and try to force their religion on the rest of the nation are not kind-hearted or gracious or good or pure or even trying to be. They say they are sinners because God (who only speaks in their heads) tells them that they are sinners and that it is all right to be a sinner because Jesus died for those sins. They have it all backwards. They have it all wrong. They are hypocrits in the worst possible definition of the word. And the people who follow them, vote for them, praise them, are fools.

Anybody surprised that patty admires Michelle Bachman? By most people standards Bachman is a complete and total wacko. Sure she has her followers. There are lots of wackos around for her to appeal to. Her head is too big for her tiny shoulders. Figuratively speaking.